The Nautilus Group has filed an additional trademark infringement lawsuit against ICON Health and Fitness, Inc., the manufacturer of the “CrossBow” and “CrossBar” equipment.
The lawsuit, which was filed on July 21, 2004, in United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleges that ICON has further infringed on the Bowflex trademark by the use of the “CrossBar” trademark. According to the complaint, ICON had a legal obligation to re-name “CrossBow” in such a manner that it did not further infringe on the trademark rights of Bowflex. Nautilus seeks injunctive relief to prevent the sale of any fitness equipment that bears the trademark “CrossBar”as well as monetary damages.
On June 22, 2004, the Federal Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. affirmed that Nautilus was entitled to an injunction barring ICON from using the trademark “CrossBow” on any exercise equipment pending trial.
In its ruling, the Court concluded that “…there remains sufficient evidence… to justify the preliminary injunction in Nautilus's favor. The degree of similarity of the marks, proximity of the products and services, strength of the Bowflex mark, and similarity of marketing channels are all factors that the court found to favor Nautilus. We have sustained the Districts Court's finding with respect to the strength of the Bowflex mark…” That injunction is in effect until Nautilus' trademark claim can proceed to trial on a date to be determined. After that injunction was issued, ICON re-named the “CrossBow” product as “CrossBar”.
Gregg Hammann, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nautilus Group stated, “We strongly believe the “CrossBar” name is too similar to the “CrossBow” trademark already ruled likely to infringe on the Bowflex trademark. Nautilus will vigorously protect and defend its investments in intellectual property. We will seek an injunction for ICON's most recent infringement, will attempt to remove the infringing “CrossBar” product from the market and will pursue monetary damages.”
